


Look After You

by geewizzle



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Follows ending of episode 3, Injured Edward, M/M, Nygmobblepot, Pining, Tears and comfort, affectionate nicknames, dog looking after his tragic owner, edward kinda fills a void in os' heart, oswald and ed the dog cuteness n fluff, oswald feeling alone, oswald is a good pet owner, oswald misses ed (nygma), oswald telling edward about his name, oswald uses his dog kinda like a diary bc he cant speak back, season 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 07:49:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17484080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geewizzle/pseuds/geewizzle
Summary: The dog laid down in his arms, and Oswald smiled down at him again, brushing his fingers through his soft fur.“Edward, was a man I once knew” he started, shakily as if he was unconfident with his words.“He was everything I could have ever wanted, yet everything I could never have”.





	Look After You

Oswald was livid as he rushed back into the large metallic chambers of City Hall with his dog, Edward in his arms. 

“When Jim finds out whoever that maniac was that blew up Haven, I will make sure to pay them a personal visit!” 

Only hours beforehand, a fiery blast following an anonymous and unprecedented attack on Haven, knocked not only Oswald off his feet, but his beloved dog whom he had only just retrieved from the Low Boys. 

Jim Gordon, who had also fallen due to the impact of the terrorist attack, urged Oswald to leave before Barbara regained her consciousness with the same intent to kill him. 

“Oh, Edward” Oswald cooed as he gave his dog a head scratch, “At least we are finally away from all the bad men”. 

As Oswald placed Edward down on the cobblestone floors, the dog immediately whined, lifting his paw up in pain. 

“Edward!” Oswald gasped, his eyes wide with concern as he bent down to carefully pick his wounded companion back up. 

The dog nestled himself in his owner’s chest as Oswald walked them both towards the kitchen.

Oswald gently placed Edward down on the countertop, before he rummaged through the cupboards and drawers searching for medical supplies. He had only rarely entered the kitchen area, since he had people working for him who would answer to his every dietary need. However, the hall had suddenly become quite vacant since most of Oswald’s people had left him to seek refuge in Haven. 

“Aha!” Oswald chirped, finding a roll of bandages under the sink. He then walked back over to Edward, giving his dog another affectionate scratch behind the ear before unrolling the medical supply. 

“Now, I’ll need your paw Edward, so I can bandage it up” Oswald told his dog, his voice careful and adoring, “I promise I won’t hurt you”. 

He delicately took Edward’s wounded paw beneath his fingers and used his other hand to quickly but cautiously bandage the joint. Oswald winced as he heard his dog whine as he did so, and an incredible sense of guilt washed over him. 

“I’m sorry, darling”.

The entire hall was silent and dark from the late hour, it felt almost harrowing, yet almost nostalgic. 

“You know,” he began, tying the last of the bandage material up, “This actually reminds me of a time, which seems quite long ago now, when I helped another dear friend of mine who was wounded” Oswald spoke to his dog, solemnly fond of the memory repainting itself in his mind. 

The dog looked up at him and licked his owner’s hand to which Oswald laughed at, “But perhaps that is a story for another time. You are in dire need for some rest I’m sure”.

Oswald held Edward to his chest as he walked back to place the dog into his designer bed. Oswald knelt the best he could, giving the dog a kiss goodnight on his soft head before walking upstairs so he too could get some much-desired sleep. 

As he made his first step up the grand staircase leading to his bedchambers, he heard a quiet, yearning bark behind him. 

Oswald turned around and his face fell at the sight of Edward sitting up waiting for his owner to take him upstairs with him. Ever since Oswald started experiencing horrific nightmares months ago, he insisted that Edward sleep on his bed. He often woke up screaming in fear, only to find his dog pressed up against his side, sleeping peacefully with his head resting on Oswald’s shoulder. Oswald would soon calm down, the reassurance that he was loved and needed casting his fears away. 

“Edward, no, you need to stay here tonight sweetheart” Oswald spoke, quiet and regretful, “I might move during the night and hurt you”.

The dog simply whined in response, as if he really was disagreeing with his owner’s words, which only jabbed at Oswald’s guilt further. 

“I’ll have Olga bring you a nice, big steak for breakfast in the morning, maybe even two!” He promised, before wishing his pet a goodnight for the second time and departing for his own bedroom. 

An hour or so later, Oswald was not in bed, however. 

He had found himself taken to one of the hall’s lounge rooms. It was an unnecessarily large room, completely blackened in darkness apart from the orange glow of the fireplace. 

Oswald leaned his head against his hand, balancing it as he stared blankly into the fire brewing in front of him. The cup of tea in his other hand had gone cold. 

He let out a melancholy sigh that he had been keeping in for days. It was broken and impassioned and failed to fill the deafening silence suffocating him. 

He closed his eyes, only to see the face of someone he was desperately trying not to think about. The one who’s very soul was torturing him. 

Suddenly, Oswald opened his eyes to the pitter-patter of paws which grew louder as the small shadow behind the doorway emerged. 

“Edward?”.

Edward made his way through the room, spotting his owner slumped on the lounge chair. The dog walked over and stood up on his hind legs to reach his paws against Oswald, trying to get his attention. 

“Edward, you need to rest” Oswald softly scolded, surprised to find his voice held a quiver. 

The dog whined and nestled his neck against Oswald’s leg. Oswald let out another sigh before picking the begging dog up and placing him rightfully in his lap. 

“You’re impossible” he joked, looking down at the dog and patting his fur. The dog licked his hand in response which earned an appreciative hum from his owner.

“Did you walk all the way here just to cheer me up?” he asked, not expecting a verbal response of course.

He knew both he and his dog should be asleep, they both had gone through quite the ordeal that day. But as Edward leaned into Oswald’s pats, he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for his friend. He recalled when he found Edward wandering all alone at the outside steps of City Hall all those months ago. How scared and lost he looked. Oswald had met the dog shortly after Edward Nygma escaped after being resurrected by Hugo Strange. Oswald had looked down forlornly at the lost bulldog and felt a sense of mutual understanding. 

“Well I suppose since neither of us want to get any sleep tonight”, Oswald suddenly spoke, “Perhaps I could tell you about the name that I gave you”. 

The dog laid down in his arms, and Oswald smiled down at him again, brushing his fingers through his soft fur. 

“Edward, was a man I once knew” he started, shakily as if he was unconfident with his words.

“He was everything I could have ever wanted, yet everything I could never have”. 

Oswald told his pet a brief retelling of the rich and exhausted history between himself and Edward Nygma. Everything that had transpired between the two men, retold through only a few sentences. It felt like an injustice to both himself and Ed, as if Oswald was committing a sin by barely skimming over so much heartbreak and love and disaster. He felt trapped in his words, like what he was saying to Edward was validating to himself all that their relationship was. 

But there was so much more.  
So much he wanted to forget, so he would pretend that it never happened. 

And so much that he wished to always remember, but Oswald was afraid to hold onto the memories.  
Afraid of what they might do to him. 

“I haven’t seen him in months”, Oswald spoke softly, his eyes on the way his fingers danced through his companion’s fur, “I don’t even know if he is alive”. 

Oswald sniffed as he felt his eyes prickle.

“I know he doesn’t want to be disturbed, and I have to respect Ed’s wishes. But god, I miss him so much”. 

His dog woke up to the pained sound in his owner’s voice, shifting his body to look up at him. 

Oswald’s eyes were now closed, letting himself free fall into his emotions the way that he usually allows himself to do when he talks to Edward. 

He often confined his deepest thoughts and hidden secrets to the silence of his dog. His lack of response allowed Oswald to spill his thoughts out to someone who would just listen to him without judgement or remark. 

It was liberating.

“Despite everything, he is still the only one who will ever have my heart. I’ve begged every part of me to let those feelings go but I can’t” he choked, letting shy tears drip from his eyes. 

“And I tried to save him, this time I tried with all that I had” he started to openly sob, finding himself talking more to his conscience than to his dog. 

“But I guess it still wasn’t enough, because he’s out there all alone with nothing as the city is falling apart” Oswald let out a shaky breath, “And here I am, the only man with everything but feels like he is completely alone”.

He felt Edward shift in his lap with a whine. He slowly opened his eyes to find his dog softly licking away his tears. 

Though he may not have understood the words his owner was speaking, Edward could recognise how Oswald was feeling and what he needed to do as his dog.

Oswald found himself smiling appreciatively at the affection and natural kindness of his pet.

“Oh, Edward” he cried, hugging the small dog to his chest. 

Edward filled the figurative hole in Oswald’s heart. He possessed a sense of loyalty and affection that the man who Oswald longed for could never give him.

“I guess I named you Edward out of my own delusion” he confessed, holding his cheek against his dog’s head. 

“I tried to convince myself that I could have someone who needed me just as much as I needed them. And through you may not be the Edward I yearn for, I adore you very much and everything that you’ve done for me.”

The dog lifted himself from Oswald’s embrace to lick his owner’s face, which Oswald softly chuckled at. 

“Come on, let’s finally get some sleep” Oswald said before shifting so his body was laying down across the lounge chair. His dog promptly followed, resting his small body across Oswald’s chest. 

They both fell asleep to the crackling of the dying fire.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey yall.  
> After episode 3 and all of that affectionate os and edward the dog content I just HAD to write something. Edward deserves the world and I am so happy that we get to see Oswald be so affectionate to him, its a really soft side that we've rarely ever seen of him. It's precious. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one. I haven't really edited it so forgive me for any mistakes. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading <3


End file.
